The once revered hero of Todd McFarlane's flagship title takes a turn for the worse in the upcoming Image United series. Robert Kirkman delivered the shocking news that Al Simmons would take on the role of antagonist in Image United at this week's Diamond Retailer Summit in Baltimore.

In choosing Simmons as the villain, Kirkman said, "When I sat down to plot Image United, knowing there'd be a different Spawn running around, I was trying to think of who would be the best villain that has punch and that the fans would respond to. There are a ton of cool Youngblood, Savage Dragon and Cyberforce villains and whatnot, but there isn't really any breakout villain that everybody would assume could pose a big world-ending threat that would bring all of these heroes together. Knowing that Al was being taken out of the picture and knowing his history with the series -- all that Hell stuff that goes on in Spawn -- it was a pretty easy jump to come up with Al Simmons as the villain and centering the series around that. It was a no-brainer decision because Al Simmons stood out as the one key villain that would bring a lot of emotional impact to this series. "

Wonder what McFarlane's take on the matter is? "Todd's cool with it; he's on board," the writer said. "Todd and I had to have a lot of conversations to make sure that this would jive with everything he's got coming up in Spawn. It will work in seamlessly with that series. It won't conflict with anything in any way, shape or form. [The other Image founders] are all excited that Todd gets to draw the villain."

So how will Al Simmons return to wreak havoc on the characters of Image United? Check out Image United issue #1, hitting comic book shops' shelves November 25th to find out! Find a local retailer near you at www.comicshoplocator.com.